Deke Brolin Rhol (20 page)

“Deke, you must be wary of this creature. Pintante are mad and treacherous. Do not let her confuse you. Whether she has betrayed us or w
ill betray us is the same thing,” Deo said.

“You are right. I will soon become what you describe
, but I am not there yet. Solharn stole my paladin from me and it is why I have become…well…this. I want him destroyed as much as you three do. My name is Torrell. I, too, have been in search of Queen Elissa. I was very near to what I thought would be the end of my quest when I was attacked by Solharn himself. He laughed at me after taking my energy, my spirit. He told me to enjoy my new life to come. I have nothing but disdain for him. I have hidden in these swamps for almost two years. I know them better than anyone and I can lead you out. I can also lead you to where I believe Elissa is,” Torrell explained. 

“How do you even know of our quest?” Deke asked.

“I have been listening to you talk and I certainly recognize the Amulet of Rhol which you wear around your neck. The creature that attacked you was a Sloto. They are abundant in these swamps but they are not the most horrific creatures that live here. Please, let me guide you. The direction you are heading is not the right path.”

“Excuse me,
” Mary said, “but I was here before, not that long ago, and I don’t like your inference.”

“There was no inference intended miss. I am sure
you once knew this swamp, but it has grown and changed drastically since you were last here.”

Deke was searching his feelings deep into his soul. He thought about the elder
’s warning to him but also his advice, to trust the people around him to take some of the responsibilities. Perhaps this is what he was referring to. After all, Torrell made sense and she was not a Pintante yet. They could make faster time with someone who knew the swamps as well as she claimed she did. He also secretly thought that it might give him the extra time he would need to save Mary, if he could.

“Ok
ay Torrell, I am still wary of how you come to be here and of your motives, but I have no reason not to trust you so I will agree to let you travel with us.”

“You have no r
eason to trust her either, Deke!” Deo said.

“Deke, t
his could be a terrible mistake,” Mary chimed in.

“I trust my instincts,
” Deke lied. He did not trust Torrell completely but he needed to take the chance, if he would have any hope of saving Mary.

The night had come. It was not as dark as Jayden had hoped. The moon was full and cast a dim light on the ground making it far too easy to see. This would have been a good thing if he did not have to worry about attracting attention while he and Oisin tried to weave their way through the woods unnoticed. Now, it would be much more difficult. It would also take more time.

He and Oisin
set out toward the last Kilto home hoping to find the answers they sought. It was slow going as Jayden had decided to stay in the cover of the trees far past the house and then backtrack. After leaving the cover of the forest they crawled, staying as low to the ground as possible. Small sporadic bushes provided some relief and a place to rest and stretch their aching knees. It took about two hours before they finally reached the outside of the building that they had their sights on.

They did not speak. They had formulated their plan well before they started. Jayden would gaze through the window and determine if any Kaltaures were there and if so
, how many. If there were two or more they would both enter. If there was only one, Jayden would enter while Oisin kept watch outside. The latter was what Jayden was hoping for and as he gazed through the window he smiled when he observed only one Kaltaures sitting down on a chair with his feet resting on a table. It was more than he could have hoped for; the soldier was sleeping. His sword was resting against the fireplace mantle several feet away from him. Jayden could see that the fire had recently gone out, leaving several ambers still glowing within the hearth of the large stone fireplace.

Jayden signaled Oisin to let him know that there was only one soldier inside. Oisin gave him a nod and readied his sword. Jayden inched his way to the front of the dwelling holding a knife which his father had given him as a boy. In his oth
er hand he carried some vine that they had gathered while waiting for nightfall to come.

The door was unlocked which did not surprise Jayden. It would be rare for any Kilto even
to possess a lock. They were too trusting. The door squeaked somewhat as he slowly pushed it open. The soldier moved slightly, but not enough to cause Jayden to rush in.

Jayden was well trained in stealth and combat fighting. He controlled his breathing and walked across the floor without a sound. He was now just feet away from the back of the soldier. He placed his knife in his mouth and readied the vine
by twisting it around one of his hands and then the other. Jayden was wearing leather gloves to prevent the snakes which adorned the soldier’s massive head from digging their fangs into his exposed skin.  He left about four feet of vine in between each hand. He would need it to keep his body well away from the snakes reach.

When Jayden was a mere foot away, he quietly sat on the floor. Once he had placed his feet securely on the back of the chair he swung the vine up and over the soldier’s head
, while at the same time pushing his feet into the chair and falling back.

The chair creaked slightly as the weight on it shifted from four legs to two. The soldier tried to scream but no sound came. The vine was digging into his neck cutting off his airway. Snakes hissed and lunged out at Jayden
, but they were unable to reach any part of him aside from his well-protected hands.

Jayden held his position
. He was surprised how long the snakes held on deprived of the air and the blood that they relied upon from the soldier. If it took much longer the soldier would die, and they needed him alive. Finally, the snakes succumbed dangling limply from his head.

Oisin did not miss a beat and instantly activated the second phase of the plan.
Upon entering the dwelling he placed a bag over the soldier’s head, and tied it tightly with a vine just at the point where the bodies of the snakes joined the base of the soldier’s skull.

“Hurry, Oisin! We need him alive. I don’t know how much longer he will last. The snakes took far longer to su
ccumb than I would have thought,” Jayden whispered.

Oisin continued to bind the soldier to the chair working as quickly as he could. With no time to spare, he finally tied the last knot around the soldier’s feet.

“Okay,” Oisin said.

Jayden immediately released the vine. The chair rocked forward making a loud bang as the front two legs once again resumed their normal position. The soldier’s head fell lifelessly forward. He was not breathing.

Jayden quickly got to his feet. Cursing, he started slapping the soldiers face, making sure to avoid the long jagged tusks.

“Breathe you filthy creature, breathe!” Jayden said as he began to pound on the soldier’s chest.

Oisin began to think that their plan had failed. This soldier would not be giving them any information. Just as they both had given up hope, the soldier’s body convulsed and he gasped for air. The chair came crashing to the floor from the sudden movement.

“Quickly, Oisin
, check outside in case anyone heard anything.”

As Oisin ran out of the building Jayden looked down at the creature who surprisingly looked rather scared.

“How did you know we would be coming through here?” Jayden asked glaring at the soldier.

“How did you know we were waiting for you?” the soldier laughed in response.

Jayden had run out of patience. He grabbed his knife off the floor and rested the blade on the soldier’s left cheek.

“You think your race is the only one capable of committing horrific acts, beast? I will do anything to save Rhol. You w
ould be wise to listen. Perhaps I should start by cutting off the pets that grow from your head, one by one?”

Jayden knew this would cause exc
ruciating pain to the Kaltaures. Jayden could see in his eyes that the threat had him thinking.

“But that won’t kill you right away, will it Kaltaures? So I will finish by gouging your eyes out so you will never see again
, and then your tongue so you will never be able to say what happened to you. And you know as well as I do that the Kaltaures will not want you around. They will be embarrassed at your weakness. They will kill you and feed you to the Ralcriff. Won’t they?”

The soldier just stared at Jayden still not saying a word
. “Perhaps you don’t believe me,” Jayden said covering the Kaltaures’ mouth and slicing off one of the snakes. The soldier’s eyes opened wide with pain. Oisin was becoming worried. Although the soldier’s screams were muffled he could still clearly hear them.

“Still not talking? Well
, you have no need for your tongue then, do you?” Jayden asked thrusting his knife through the soldier’s cheek.

The soldier
frantically mumbled something under Jayden’s hand. Jayden left his knife in place as he lifted his hand from the soldier’s mouth.

“Abednego se
nt us. He said that two Lealians would come through here.”

“What else
did he say?” Jayden sternly asked.

“We were to capture the one named Jayden and kill the other. Solharn wanted
the one called Jayden alive so he could control him or something. His plan was to place him back in the Lealian army.”

“You lie! Solharn would know better than to think
a Lealian would ever betray another, let alone Rhol,” Jayden responded twisting the knife.

“It is true,” t
he soldier said panicking, “I have seen it.”

“Seen what?”

“He forces them to swallow some black liquid that comes from inside him. It is horrible to witness. If they live through the pain they are completely in his control. It is how he builds his armies.”

Jayden pulled the knife away from the soldier’s cheek
. “You have still not answered my original question. How did Abednego know to send you here for us?”

“I do not know exactly but there has been someone working against you for a long time.  It is someone of Solace who betrays you. That is all I know.”

Jayden’s mind fought to comprehend this information. Who could it be? He was only a little further ahead than he was before, but he actually believed the soldier knew nothing more.

“
I will keep my word. I will spare your life Kaltaures. That is what separates us,” Jayden said walking away.

“You might as well kill me if you are going to leave me here like this! When they find me in the morning they will kill me themselves and brand me a coward for being captured.”

“Perhaps, or you can spend the night thinking of a story to tell them. Either way, your death will not be by my hands.”

After placing a gag on the Kaltaures soldier
, Jayden exited the house and was met by Oisin who had been waiting for him. Neither said a word as they quietly escaped the Kilto village.

They had travelled for
several hours before Oisin finally spoke. “Jayden, I overheard the soldier. What do you make of it? Do you have any idea who betrays us?”

“I have been giving it a great of thought Oisin
, and still I do not know. The soldier specifically said the traitor is of Solace. This means Palto and the inhabitants of the Sacred Realm are in grave danger. It gives Solharn an advantage; he may already know where Deke, Deo and Mary are. This information drastically changes our tactics. We must find our armies before it is too late.”

“How much further to Aura?”

“We should be there just before sunrise, but it will take time once we get there. When Palto flew me to Solace I could see that Solharn’s camp was positioned to the east of Aura. That is where we will come out when we arrive. Hopefully we will still have some cover of darkness because we will have to travel north through the woods in order to maneuver around his troops. Once we have done that we will have to find our armies. We can only hope that they are still where I saw them last. Our only advantage is that Solharn will not think we are coming. He will not hear about the Kaltaures failure to capture us until we are long past his camps.”

Oisin did not respond as he and Jayden continued toward Aura. He
, too, had thought deeply about who could have betrayed them, and whoever it was, did they do so of their own choosing or were they under Solharn’s control? He had become more powerful, more evil. Jayden was right. Solharn had a huge advantage over them now. They were without Elissa, the boy from Earth who held the amulet was in the middle of the Tiqor Swamps, and they themselves had a long way to go to finally reach their destination and hopefully find their armies intact. To top it all off, their side had been compromised by a traitor.

Oisin
greatly admired Jayden but realized even he could not have predicted this. Oisin hoped Jayden had some sort of plan because he was beginning to feel as if the survival of Rhol was slipping away. In any event, he would fight alongside Jayden until he could do no more. They were nearing Aura and were both exhausted, but rest would have to come later, much later.